Time is Money: The Economic Benefit of Transit Investment (2007)

“Time is Money: The Economic Benefit of Transit Investment” was produced by Chicago Metropolis 2020, a non-profit organization created by the Commercial Club of Chicago.

“The Chicago Metropolis 2020 report — Time is Money: The Economic Benefit of Transit Investment — proves that new funding for transit is an excellent investment. Using quantitative models, we calculated the long-term transportation and economic benefits that would result from implementing the RTA Strategic Plan, Moving Beyond Congestion. We wanted to know if the benefits of proposed new transit spending would outweigh the costs — would the public receive a positive return on its investment?

We used very conservative assumptions. We assumed that all of the region’s road projects planned to be completed by 2020 would actually be built by then. And we did not consider impacts on property values or short-term economic boosts from construction employment.”

To request a pdf version of “Time is Money: The Economic Benefit of Transit Investment,” please send an email to Edward Bury at: ebury@uic.edu.